Southampton return to Premier League action on Monday following the international break as they host South Coast neighbours Brighton and Hove Albion at St Mary's.
The Saints earned their first victory of the season prior to the break thanks to a comfortable 2-0 win at Crystal Palace to ease some early relegation fears.
Both sides have collected four points from their opening four encounters although all of the visitors points have come in-front of their supporters and they have largely struggled on the road.
Saints are unbeaten in their last three visits of Brighton with their last defeat coming back in 2009 when the pair were in League one.
The hosts have had some players away on international duty, but the bulk of the squad have been with the team in preparation for the visit of the Seagulls while also being afforded some days rest.
Both sides met just a couple of weeks ago when the Saints claimed a 1-0 win at the Amex Stadium in the Carabao Cup thanks to a late Charlie Austin header.
The home form of Mark Hughes' side is something of a concern after failing to win either of their opening two games and winning just four league matches at St Mary's last season.
In last season's respective fixture it was played out as a 1-1 draw with Glenn Murray scoring Brighton's while Jack Stephens netted Saints in the second half.
In terms of team news, Shane Long (ankle) and Charlie Austin (high) haven't trained all week, but Hughes is confident that the pair will be able to train in the build up to the match and make themselves available for Monday.
As for the Seagulls, Pascal Gross has been nursing an ankle injury, but is expected to be fit for Monday night while, Bruno (thigh) and Jose Izquierdo (knee) will both face late fitness test to discover their participation in the match.
Southampton manager Hughes is looking for his side to take the opportunity to claim back to back wins for the first time since the 2016/17 season and is confident that his side can do it:
“We’re looking forward to Monday. It’s been quite some time since we’ve had back-to-back wins in the Premier League (April 2017)," Hughes said.
“A home game gives us the best opportunity to rectify that, and hopefully push into the top half of the table, with a view to staying there.
“It’ll be a good atmosphere under the lights."
Southampton's home form hasn’t been good enough, but this is a big opportunity for them.
Some tips for you for the game, the hosts are the heavy favourites with William Hill being priced at 21/20, while you can get an away win at 11/4.
Elsewhere, for inform Saints striker Danny Ings to score and the Saints to win its 11/4 and could be worth a few quid.
I feel that it will be another close encounter between two evenly match sides this Monday night, but feel that the Saints will just have enough for Chris Hughton's Brighton.
I feel that the Saints will win this 2-1 on Monday evening.
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